Specific Bacteriologic Problems After Orthotopic Liver Transplantation in Dogs and Pigs

IN THE literature of experimental hepatic homotransplantation, it has not been emphasized that liver sepsis posed an unusual problem or occurred with exceptional frequency although reports from our laboratory¹and by Stuart et al²and Fonkalsrud et al³mentioned the development of liver abscesses as one postoperative complication. In these dogs, heavy antibiotic therapy was given. Moreover, Alican and Hardy⁴observed hepatic abscesses in dogs which had received autotransplantation of the liver and biliary drainage by cholecystoduodenostomy. Their findings were particularly significant since neither an immunologic barrier for immunosuppression were involved in their experiments. Since then, interest has been directed to the specific problem of liver homograft sepsis by the development of hepatic abscesses in four of six children who were treated at our institutions by orthotopic liver homotransplantation. The features and treatment of this complication in patients has been discussed elsewhere.⁵The present report